QUESTION SET ONE
You are a human resource consultant specializing in the counseling of small businesses on the south side of Chicago. One of your new clients, Sherrod Brown, is the owner and the only employee of the Far Left, a magazine dedicated to the far-left wing of the Democratic Party. Far Left has a loyal following, with annual revenues in excess of $500,000.
Because Mr. Brown is a gambler, and he likes his fancy clothes [a parody of the Jim Croce song and not an indictment of the character of the fine Senator from the great state of Ohio who introduced the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act], he wants to generate more revenue from Far Left. Mr. Brown believes that a number of local businesses would buy ad space in his publication. Because he is busy writing substantive articles for Far Left, Mr. Brown does not have time to sell ad space.
To those ends, Mr. Brown retained Jimmy C., a local musician and entrepreneur, to sell ad space for Far Left. Mr. Brown considers Jimmy C. to be an independent contractor. Mr. Brown pays Jimmy C. $250 per week and 10% of any revenue that Jimmy C. generates through ad sales. To assist Jimmy C. in the performance of his duties, Mr. Brown also provided Jimmy C. with Mr. Brown's address list, a cell phone, and a Custom Lincoln Continental.
Mr. Brown did not require Jimmy C. to undergo any training, as Mr. Brown believes that making sales is a matter of who you know and not what you know. Rather, Mr. Brown wrote a song for Jimmy C. to sing to potential customers. Mr. Brown calls Jimmy C. every day at 8 a.m. to make sure that he is on the job. Mr. Brown also equipped the Custom Lincoln Continental with a GPS tracking system so that he could track Jimmy C. throughout the day. Mr. Brown does not permit Jimmy C. to sell ad space for any other magazines. Mr. Brown set the pricing for the ads, which are not negotiable. Jimmy C. worked tirelessly for two months to sell ad space, but his efforts did not produce much fruit.
Despite putting in 60+ hours, Jimmy C. only sold $5,000 in ads. Unfortunately, Jimmy C. tripped over a curb and thereafter was bitten by a dog while selling ad space at the local junkyard. Jimmy C. filed a claim for workers compensation claim benefits. Jimmy C. also filed a lawsuit against Far Left for failure to pay minimum wage and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Identify the benefit(s) to Far Left and to Jimmy C. of the independent contractor classification?
- Analyze the fact pattern using the IRAC formula.First, identify the narrow Issue(s) identified in the fact pattern. In addition, identify the potential ramifications/business considerations presented by the issue.
- Second, identify the Rule or test the courts use to analyze such issues. To receive points for this part of the question, you must reference the case in which the rule/test was applied using a complete case citation.
- Third, identify the court's Application or Analysis of the salient/most important facts to the rule/test.
- Finally, using the court's analysis, identify the Conclusion that you anticipate the court would reach based on the facts presented in the Junkyard Dog fact pattern.
QUESTION SET TWO
1. Identify the test used to determine if a trainee/student is an employee.
2. Identify a case in which the trainee/student issue was analyzed. To receive full credit, you must provide a complete case citation.
3. Go outside the readings to answer whether an individual can volunteer to work for a for-profit company.
4. Go outside the readings to identify the factors considered by the Department of Labor in determining whether an individual is a volunteer or an employee.